Korea’s NPS to invest $386 million through private equity

The National Pension Service (NPS), South Korea’s sovereign wealth fund, will invest 400 billion Korean won (US$386 million) into a fund managed by Hamilton Lane, a US-based private equity firm.

In April this year, the US house closed its Private Equity Fund VIII, a fund of funds vehicle with $426.8 million AUM, which exceeded its target size of $400 million.

In June, the NPS, which manages 436 trillion won, hired a US-based adviser for real estate investment in Asia, in order to further its exposure in a space expected to generate higher returns. Boosting property investment is part of the Seoul-based agency’s plan to increase its proportion of alternative investments - including infrastructure, property and private equity - to 11.3% of assets in 2014.

The NPS has been increasing its allocation to overseas equities to as much as 10.5% in 2014, but has maintained its portion of domestic equities at 20%.